Woman chosen as top US Episcopal Church bishop

By Jim Leckrone

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) – The U.S. Episcopal Church on
Sunday chose Bishop Katharine Schori as its new leader, the
first woman to head the 2.3 million-member denomination since
its founding in colonial times.

Her election came 30 years after the Episcopal Church, the
U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, approved the
ordination of women to the priesthood.

Schori, who holds degrees in biology and oceanography and
taught religious studies at Oregon State University before her
1994 ordination, was selected by bishops attending the church’s
triennial convention from a field of several candidates.

A majority of bishops backed the consecration of Gene
Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in more
than 450 years of Anglican history, when the Church last met in
convention three years ago.

Schori was elected after five ballots and was the
front-runner from the start of voting, church officials said.

Coming in second in the voting was the Rev. Henry Parsley,
bishop of the diocese of Alabama, who opposed the elevation of
Robinson three years ago.

Schori, 52, is the bishop of the Diocese of Nevada. She
will be installed at a ceremony in Washington’s National
Cathedral later this year.

How to address fallout from the Robinson consecration has
dominated the convention.

The convention must still act on proposals that would
address concerns raised by a report commissioned by the
archbishop of Canterbury. That report advised the church to
apologize for the Robinson consecration, promise not to elevate
any more gays in same-sex relationships to the episcopate and
take a stand against the blessing of same-sex unions.

When news of Schori’s selection reached the convention, one
delegate from Nevada described her as a person of prayer and
action. Another delegate commented that he could hear the glass
ceiling shattering with her selection.